This invention relates to an apparatus for melt fusing a suitable controlled length of a multifilament thermoplastic surgical suture. The melt fusion essentially seals and stiffens at least one end of the suture. This invention also relates to an apparatus for cutting at least one end of a surgical suture.
Most braided suture material, for needled and non-needled products, is skeined onto a frame, `dipped` in a polymer resin solution, oven dried, cut off from the frame, and sorted for faulty lengths.
This operation is slow and messy, labor intensive and space consuming, and all that is achieved is the cutting of the sutures to length, the sealing of the ends to prevent fraying, and stiffening for greater ease of insertion into a needle. The average product spends 2 days of in-process time in the end dipping department.
This invention eliminates the end dipping operation for braided thermoplastic suture materials, and replaces it by an inline system in the next production operation (viz. needle attaching, or winding in the case of non-needled sutures) with a reduction of in-process time and floor space requirements.
For braided thermoplastic suture materials heat is used to achieve melt fusion of the outer filaments of the braid.
The braid is handled from the reel or spool as a controlled, continuous strand. Following melt fusion of the desired section of braid, it is cut to the required suture length and ready for additional processing.